What the Abercrombie and Fitch doc and my missed opportunity at becoming a multi-millionaire have in common
Yes, it’s true. And I think about my big mistake regularly.
This is going to be a quick one because I’m literally getting ready to hop on a plane to Ireland in a few hours and I need to stock up on snacks at Trader Joe’s first so let’s just dive in.
Every American millennial knew about the social status definer known as Abercrombie and Fitch. While I won’t dive into the details of what the Netflix documentary is about because you can do that on your own AND YOU SHOULD. It’s a pretty good documentary called White Hot: the Rise and Fall of Abercrombie and Fitch. I want to focus on the lone Black girl-now-woman who was a part of that lawsuit. Her name is Carla Barrientos. She, and many other teenagers of color, were racially discriminated against by the brand because they didn’t fit into the “All-American” look that Abercrombie and Fitch was known for (which was as white as Dunder Mifflin paper). While the other students were able to recognize that they had been discriminated against to such a degree that legal action was necessary, Carla was unsure if her experience with the brand was “that serious.” She talked to her family who encouraged her to reach out to the people leading the class action lawsuit but, by the way she described her conversation with her family, it sounds like they were unsure, too.
Watching Carla recount her story and eventually get justice made me a little sad because that was me a few years ago (minus the justice part). I got a concussion on a bus a few years ago while living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was entirely the bus driver’s fault. Even though I was in my early 20’s, I had never seen a Black woman who was wronged by an institution as big as the MTA get justice so I thought, “Why would I be any different?”
I can also admit that I had internalized that bad things happen to Black people, Black women and femmes in particular, everyday and little to no one cares enough to do something about it. I had no knowledge about “statutes of limitations” or “what my rights were.” I told my mom and, just like me, she thought that it was her and I against this huge transportation company. We didn’t know that we could’ve gotten a free lawyer (because it was such an easy and lucrative case), sued, and made millions. We didn’t know that what happened to me would’ve mattered to other people (even if it was just for financial gain). To emphasize: we didn’t know that what happened to me mattered.
I’m happy that Carla’s story had a “happy” ending but it does make me wonder: how many other little Black girls are out there, suffering in self-inflicted silence, because they’ve also internalized the societal message that Black women are almost expected to be in pain and there’s no expectation for people to care about it.
Like I said earlier, I have a plane to catch and snacks to buy! I’ll be sending the paid subscribers another short newsletter tomorrow about what I’m doing in Ireland, where I’m staying, and any travel recommendations I have after my first day there :)
Until next week <3